Sustainability & Traceability

We specialize in harvesting wild red and brown species growing on our Atlantic shores. Certified organic, we service the Food & Beverage and Cosmetic industry as well as partnering with R&D institutes. All of our products are traceable back to the time and place where it was picked from. Our testing regime ensures the supply of a high quality product.

Sustainable harvesting methods and respecting the environment are at the core of Blath na Mara’s values.

Located on the beautiful and unique setting of The Aran Islands, ensuring we play our part to support our island community and showcase our island home is an essential part of our ethos.

OUR STORY

Like many in island communities, we are a family business. Máirtín Ó’Conceanainn a native of Inis Mór, started Blath na Mara in 2002. ‘Bláth na Mara’ is a gaelic term which translates to ‘Flower of the Sea’. The translation of feamainn to the english word seaweed, didn’t seem to give the essence of this prosperous resource justice and so Blath na Mara was born.

For the next 13 years Máirtín developed the business, expanding his knowledge of the local species on the shore, single-handedly harvested through the seasons and developed a purpose built unit on the island for drying and processing the harvest.

In 2015 Máirtín’s daughter Jenny with her Kiwi husband David and two daughters, returned from New Zealand to the Aran to join her father. The blend of experience and knowledge from Jenny and David’s arrival has allowed Blath na Mara to develop and diversify their product offering. In addition to our wholesale product we have now introduced our own retail line, foraging tours and continue to engage and collaborate on different projects within our industry.

We are always happy to hear from anyone wishing to collaborate or work with us and can be contacted here.

IT’S OUR HERITAGE

Blath na Mara harvest and operate from Inis Mór, the largest of The Aran Islands located in Galway Bay along the Wild Atlantic Way.

The Aran Islands saw its first settlers arrive about 7,000 years ago, hunter gatherers following the abundance of food available along the coastline. Since then the islands have passed through the centuries of settlers, all leaving their legacy of history, heritage and tradition.

Seaweed harvesting is part of that heritage. Islanders lived chiefly in the 19th century by fishing and kelpmaking, sowing potatoes using seaweed to make soil and fertilize the land. The sale of kelp was a primary source of income with demand coming from the glass and soap making in the early 18th century and later revived again for the production of iodine.

With dozens of different species growing on our shores, sea vegetables have always been part of the island diet, Dulse as a snack, Carrageen for the pudding or to heal a cold, each season brings its bounty.

We love to tell our story, we are proud of our home and heritage and welcome you to come and experience it for yourself. Contact us for information on our tours or just say hello.